About
Jeffrey Li, Cello
Cellist Jeffrey Li (Jeff) began his musical studies at age 4 playing the piano, before switching to the cello at age 9. A native of Los Angeles, Jeff made his soloist debut at age 13 performing the Dvorak Cello Concerto, and by 15 had also performed the Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme and Shostakovich Cello Concerto no 1 with numerous orchestras throughout the greater Los Angeles area. He has since has given numerous concerts at venues including Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. He regularly collaborates on stage with award-winning musicians across multiple genres from classical to jazz, rap to rock, with performances heard by many of the world’s most prominent figures and leaders.
Jeff completed his Bachelor of Music degree at Northwestern University and his Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School. His primary teachers were Hans Jørgen Jensen and Richard Aaron, with whom he also studied at the Aspen Music Festival and School. His primary instrument is a c. 1790 English cello, and performs on bows by Andre Richaume, Emmanuel Begin, and Evan Orman.
Outside of music, Jeff additionally earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Northwestern, and has held past software development positions at Microsoft Corporation and Google Inc for several years. After leaving Google, he co-founded Zocal Inc., a mobile phone application for location sharing Android and iOS devices serving over 50,000 customers internationally. He is also the Executive Director of Young Artists Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to mentoring the next generation of classical musicians.
On his spare time Jeff produces music education software to aid student practicing, and is dedicated to rewriting common cello method books to enhance playing technique.